WAWAYANDA - A new emergency access gate system has been built on Interstate 84 in Orange County, 10 months after a bus crashed there , killing two people.
The access gate was added at county Route 49 in the town of Wawayanda.
The lack of a direct access point to I-84 in that area, which local emergency responders had been urging be built for years, was highlighted last year when one of six chartered buses carrying students from the Farmingdale school district on Long Island to a band camp in Greeley, Pa. crashed into a ravine on Sept. 21. 2023.
The bus was carrying four adults and 40 students. Beatrice Ferrari, 77, a retired teacher serving as a chaperone, and Gina Pellettiere, 43, the school's band director, were killed in the crash.
All of the students were injured, five of them critically.
Emergency responders said at the time if there had been an emergency access gate in that area — about halfway between the Goshen and Mountain Road exits — their response time could have been reduced by 10 or 15 minutes.
The Federal Highway Administration approved the Wawayanda access point earlier this year, and the state Department of Transportation, which designed the gate system, coordinated with the town to expedite construction.
How we got here: I-84 emergency access gate support grows after fatal bus crash
"Since the horrific bus crash last September, my administration has been focused on working with our federal and local partners to expedite the construction of this access gate to protect New Yorkers," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement released by her office Wednesday. "This access gate makes this stretch of roadway safer, and provides a faster, more direct way for first responders to reach Interstate 84 and save lives."
Under a formal agreement between the state DOT and the town of Wawayanda, the DOT designed and installed the entranceway and access gate, and the town will maintain the entranceway and ramp going forward, and ensure that designated emergency service vehicles are able to use it to reach the highway.
The town also will perform snow and ice removal, and periodically inspect the gate make sure it is secured.
Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Pat Ryan and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus all issued statements expressing their gratitude for the completion of the access gate project.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: I-84 emergency access gate in Wawayanda, built in wake of fatal bus crash, is complete
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